Stringed musical instrument



April 15, 1930. R. w. CLAIBORNE STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed May.28. 1927 M 2 :NVEN'ITOR I Z/ww ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 15 1930 UNITED STATES ROBERT W. CLAIBORNE, OF NEW *CANMN, 'CQNNEG'I'I-OUT s'rnmenn MUSICAL ans-immune Application filed May 28,

The present invention relates to an improvement in musical instruments having gut strings and played by plucking or bowing including violins, monochords, ukuleles, cellos and the like, one object being to provide an instrument of simple and inexpensive construction and yet having good musical qualities. In musical instruction it is found that the interest of pupils, particularly children,

is quickly gained and closely held where the instruction includes actual making of the instrument upon which the pupil expects to perform. It has been my purpose to devise an instrument more sturdily and carefully 115 built than a toy and havin some of the musical quality of the Violin but of measurably simpler form so that a pupil may with some instruction be able to make his own instrument. To this end, my improved device includes a rigid central frame piece to one end of which is attached a sound box, the other end thereof serving as a neck and being provided with means for tightening or loosening the strings. By eliminating all curved contours, the problem of making the various pieces and setting them together becomes relatively simple and the student is able to produce with moderate effort an instrument which will not be disappointing in its tone and Volume.

One embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the drawings accompanying the present specification and in which Figure l is a top plan view;

Figure 2, a section 011 the line 22 of F igure 1; and

Figure 3, an end view With the end wall removed.

Referring to the drawings, a longitudinally extending frame piece takes the form of a neck portion 1 at one end, the other end 2 being enclosed within a sound box provided with a sound board 3 which, as shown in Figures 2 and 8, is spaced from the portion 2 of the frame piece. A string anchoring peg 4c is mounted on said end portion 2 and extends through an opening 5 in the sound board 3. A sound post 6 extends across the interior of the sound box between the sound board 3 and the back wall 7 and at one side of me. sermlfuo. 194376.

the end portion 2 of the longitudinal iframe pie Ge. A bridge 8 is held in position by strings 9 against an outer portion of the sound box positioned 'adiiacent *to one end of -the sound post 6,, the strings being adjusted to and maintained in any --desired position of ta u't'ness by means of friction pegs -10 mounted in the neck "case 12; i

It will be noted that the upper faces 'of the sound box and the neck of an instrument constructed according to my invention 'lie substantially in'a single plane, the strings being spaced therefrom by the peg f and a fret 11 8 adjacent to the inner "end of neck easel-2. This produces a clearn'e'ss of tone "which would otherwise be impossib le except with the use of a finger board extension of ebony or other special wood commonly used Eor'the purpose in the construction of vidlins and otherstringe'dinstruments.

The instrument hereinabove described consists of relatively few parts namely, a main frame piece, two side, walls, a back wall, a sound board, ancend wall, a fixedstring anchoring peg, a bridge, and-one "or more string tensioni'n'g pegs. "The sound box is of angulax-contour in 'a l-"lse'ctions and the parts are therefore easily made and assembled even by youthful students or those having only a medium amount of mechanical ingenuity. Although the "instrument described has been referred to as a violin or of the violin type, it is obviously possible by varying its overall size to reproduce the qualities of other similar instruments such for example, a basev'io'l, "a cello, viola and -the like. i I have found that satisfactory results are secured where the sound box is of substantially trapezoidal shape with the side edges of the sound board tapering toward each other at about an angle of 7 7 degrees to the base edge. For an instrument intended to approximate a violin in size and tone character, the base will be 7 7 inches across and the narrow end of the sound board will be 1 inches across. The sound box also varies in depth from 2 inches at its base or free end to 1 inch at the point where it is secured to the neck. To produce an instrument for playing lower notes, the sound box will be made larger than that described but the same proportions and angular relationships will be maintained. It will be apparent that an opening 11 of any suitable contour will be made in the sound board to permit the exit gf sound waves from the interior of the sound I claim as my invention:

1. A stringed musical instrument comprising a longitudinal frame piece, a sound box enclosing an end portion thereof, the other end portion forming a neck, a string anchoring peg having one end extending into an enclosed portion of said frame piece and string tightening means mounted in said neck portion thereof.

2. A stringed musical instrument comprising a longitudinal frame piece, a sound box enclosing one end thereof and provided with a sound board spaced from the enclosed portion of said frame piece, and a string anchoring peg having one end extending into said frame piece and the other end extending outwardly through said sound board.

3. A stringed musical instrument comprising a longitudinal frame piece, a sound box enclosing one end thereof and provided with a sound board spaced from the enclosed portion of said frame piece, and a string anchoring peg mounted on said frame piece and extending through said sound board and out of contact therewith.

4. A stringed musical instrument com prising a longitudinal frame piece having a a neck portion, a reduced terminal portion and a shoulder at the intersection of said neck and said terminal portion, and a sound box consisting of a flat end wall secured transversely of said terminal portion, a sound board and spaced fiat side walls having their respective outer ends secured to said end wall and their respective inner ends engaging said shoulder, and a flat back wall having its outer end secured to said end wall and its inner end engaging said frame piece adjacent to said shoulder, said back and side walls and sound board being positioned and shaped to form a chamber of progressively diminishing cross sectional area from its outer to its inner end.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this 24th day of May, 1927. I

- ROBERT W. CLAIBORNE. 

